The Port of Seattle issued the following statement in response to today’s Seattle City Council vote on Council Bill 120933:
"The Port of Seattle is disappointed in the Seattle City Council’s decision to move forward rushed legislation that will directly harm our city’s maritime and industrial operations, threaten thousands of union jobs, and negatively impact our region’s economic competitiveness in trade. It pushes us down a slippery slope of encroachment on industrial lands. This is a loss for the public who will pay in the future with resources, missed opportunities, and heartache.
This spot rezone was inappropriately advanced outside the comprehensive planning process. More importantly, this decision directly undermines the hard-won 2023 compromise between the Port and City Council that protects maritime and industrial lands and allows appropriate development in Sodo.
Today's biggest winner is an out-of-state billionaire developer, who more than a decade ago made a bet that he could buy industrial land on the cheap and get the city council to add millions to his property value just by changing the zoning.
Sodo needs to be a destination for the maritime and clean energy economy, not condos. We need to execute on competing for trade and activating the clean energy transformation. We are not done fighting for that long-term vision for Seattle.
As stated in our letter on Feb. 24, the Port also has serious legal concerns that this legislation violates both the State Environmental Policy Act and the Growth Management Act. While we review our legal options, we urge the Mayor to veto this legislation."
Contact
Perry Cooper | Port of Seattle Media Officer
[email protected]
